ALBUM REVIEW: Grizzlor - "Destructoid"

By: Charlie Butler

Album Type: Full Length

Date Released: 15/08/2017

Label: Hex Records

“Destructoid” is a record that fully lives up to its title. Grizzlor have served up a sumptuous platter of riffs that effortlessly lays waste to the opposition.

“Destructoid” CD//DD//LP track listing:

1). Fruitloopville

2). House in the Woods

3). Tooth Pain

4). Miserable Jerk

5). Stupid Shit

6). Too Many People

7). Fighting Aliens With No Gravity

8). Wade’s Notes

9). Feeling Like Shit

10). Simulation

11). Quit And Die

The Review:

New Haven’s Grizzlor continue to carve out their own bizarre niche in the world of noise rock with debut LP “Destructoid”. The band achieve a perfect balance of lurid absurdity and nasty heaviness like opening up a kids comic book to discover it has been used to harbour dark top-shelf material.

The album lurches into life with the gargantuan “Fruitloopville”. Imagine a 50 foot Clutch after having their drink spiked by the Melvins and you have an idea of the monstrous, city-levelling riff Grizzlor unleash here. This sets the scene for the next thirty minutes of mayhem. While on previous releases the band have ripped through seven songs in ten minutes, here they have managed to lengthen their attention span in order to wring maximum impact from their bottomless arsenal of weapons-grade riffs. “Tooth Pain” and “Simulation” prove they can rock hardcore punk tempos without losing their edge but it is the relentless attack of closer “Quit Ad Die” that captures the band at their peak.

The fact that Grizzlor can achieve this and maintain their unhinged acid-fried intensity is no mean feat. Key to this are the vocals and lyrics of guitarist Victor. His barked maniacal delivery is the perfect vehicle for his darkly comic rants on tooth pain, crippling paranoia and feeling like shit. The air of weirdness is enhanced by outbursts reverb-drenched lead guitar that lend the likes of “Feeling Like Shit” a warped surf edge.

“Destructoid” is a record that fully lives up to its title. Grizzlor have served up a sumptuous platter of riffs that effortlessly lays waste to the opposition.

“Destructoid” is available here

Band info: bandcamp || facebook

ALBUM REVIEW: Dead Cross - "Dead Cross"

By: Charlie Butler

Album Type: Full Length

Date Released: 04/08/2017

Label: Ipecac Recordings |

Three One G

While Dead Cross don’t quite deliver the all-out face-melting insanity you may expect from their constituent parts, this debut is still an exhilarating burst of queasy punk rock mayhem that reminds most young pretenders who’s in charge.

“Dead Cross” CD//DD//LP track listing:

1. Seizure and Desist
2. Idiopathic
3. Obedience School
4. Shillelagh
5. Bela Lugosi’s Dead
6. Divine Filth
7. Grave Slave
8. The Future Has Been Cancelled
9. Gag Reflex
10. Church of the Motherfuckers

The Review:

It’s impossible not to get excited about the talent gathered to form Dead Cross. Any new project from Mike Patton comes with high expectations, but throw in the mighty drum skills of Dave Lombardo, The Locust’s Justin Pearson on bass and Festival Of Dead Deer’s Michael Crain unleashing six-string carnage and anticipation goes through the roof.

What’s most apparent on the band’s debut LP is that they sound like they are having a total blast. Dead Cross’ blend of no-nonsense hardcore punk, restless metal and goth-tinged weirdness may be slightly more straightforward than the band member’s career peaks but it packs a real punch.

The highlights of this album come when Dead Cross switch between breathless intensity and slower sections within the space of a track. “Idiopathic” and “Obedience School” are sub-three minute epics that find the band ripping through furious riffs and sections of reverb-assisted grandeur. This backdrop of ever-changing sounds and moods give Patton freedom to unleash his full arsenal of vocal talents from smooth crooning to incomprehensible gurgles and screams. Most disturbing is his mumbled utterances of “Tampax” over the bizarre locked groove that ends “Gag Reflex”.

“Shillelagh” is the closest Dead Cross get to Faith No More territory with a strong “King For A Day...” feel to its ever-shifting punk rock churn. The second half of the album finds the band channelling the spirit of Pearson and Crain’s 31G Records past, particularly the off-kilter rock’n’roll discord of “The Future Has Been Cancelled”. The only slight misfire here is their cover of Bauhaus’ “Bela Lugosi’s Dead”. They deliver a spirited version of the track but its presence in the middle of the LP is jarring and disrupts its breakneck flow.

While Dead Cross don’t quite deliver the all-out face-melting insanity you may expect from their constituent parts, this debut is still an exhilarating burst of queasy punk rock mayhem that reminds most young pretenders who’s in charge.

“Dead Cross” is available here

Band info: facebook || bandcamp

Melvins - "Basses Loaded" (Album Review)

By: Charlie Butler

Album Type: Full Length
Date Released: 03/06/2016
Label: Ipecac Recordings

“Basses Loaded” is yet another stellar release from the Melvins. They may never release another record as influential as their 80’s and 90’s classics but the fact they are still unleashing vital shots of oddball heavy rock, 33 years into their career is testament to their immortal power.

“Basses Loaded” CD//DD//LP track listing:

01. The Decay of Lying (Steve McDonald)
02. Choco Plumbing (Jared Warren)
03. Beer Hippie (Dale Crover, aka Melvins 1983 lineup)
04. I Want To Tell You (Steve McDonald)
05. Captain Come Down (JD Pinkus)
06. Hideous Woman (Steve McDonald)
07. Shaving Cream (Dale Crover, aka Melvins 1983 lineup)
08. Planet Distructo (Trevor Dunn, aka Melvins Lite lineup)
09. War Pussy (Steve McDonald)
10. Maybe I Am Amused (Krist Novoselic)
11. Phyllis Dillard (Dale Crover, aka Melvins 1983 lineup)
12. Take Me Out To The Ballgame (Dale Crover, aka Melvins 1983 lineup)

The Review:

What came first – the title or the concept of the new Melvins record? Either way, “Basses Loaded” is a good name to cap off this multi bass player extravaganza. The deadly duo of King Buzzo and Dale Crover are joined by a plethora of four-string warriors and tub-thumpers to create another solid entry in the Melvins’ canon.

The plethora of personnel involved in the creation of this album might raise concerns about its coherence.  These doubts prove unfounded as “Basses Loaded” has the feel of a singles collection from a band in their prime. The fun of playing ‘guess the bass player’ only adds to this infectious energy.

The most distinctive contribution here is provided by Trevor Dunn on the excellent “Planet Distructo”. His upright bass is the foundation for a subdued slow-burning track which provides stark contrast to the high octane mayhem elsewhere and ends up being one of the albums highlights. The song concludes with Dunn and Crover engaged in a duelling jazzy solos, both musicians relishing the chance to cut loose.  Next easiest to spot is Jared Warren who brings the heavy metal thunder on “Choco Plumbing”.

Everything we’ve come to expect from the current Melvins first team line-up of Buzzo, Crover and the Big Business rhythm section is in full effect here. It’s four minutes of hard-rocking riffs, thunderous dual drumming and maniacal harmonies that makes you yearn for another full-length from these guys soon.

The rest of the four string warriors here are harder to place on first listen but provide some killer contributions. Butthole Surfer’s JD Pinkus fuels some serious riffarama on “Captain Come Down” while Krist Novoselic brings bass and accordion to the unexpected power pop of “Maybe I’m Amused”.

The remaining tracks are split between Redd Kross’ Steve Macdonald and Melvins’ own Dale Crover on low end duty. Mike Dillard gets behind the kit to allow Crover to power through the pummelling likes of “Beer Hippie” and the cheeky foul-mouthed nursery rhyme “Shaving Cream”.  Macdonald’s tunes cover similarly diverse ground, from classic Melvins facemelters like “War Pussy” to the catchy glam stomp of “I Want To Tell You”. “The Decay of Dying” is Macdonald’s best contribution though, and probably the pinnacle of “Basses Loaded”. It utilises the classic grunge quiet/loud dynamic to great effect with periods of restrained crawling menace giving way to bursts of anthemic release.

“Basses Loaded” is yet another stellar release from the Melvins. They may never release another record as influential as their 80’s and 90’s classics but the fact they are still unleashing vital shots of oddball heavy rock, 33 years into their career is testament to their immortal power.  

“Basses Loaded” is available here

Band info: bandcamp || facebook 

Melvins - Hold It In (Album Review)

Album Type: Full-Length

Date Released: 14/10/2014

Label: Ipecac Recordings

‘Hold It In’ CD/DD/LP track listing:

1). Bride of Crankenstein
2. You Can Make Me Wait
3. Brass Cupcake
4. Barcelonian Horseshoe Pit
5. Onions Make the Milk Taste Bad
6. Eyes on You
7. Sesame Street Meat
8. Nine Yards
9. The Bunk Up
10. I Get Along (Hollow Moon)
11. Piss Pisstopherson
12. House of Gasoline

Melvins are:

King Buzzo | Vocals, Guitar

Dale Crover | Drums, Backing vocals

JD Pinkus | Bass, Lead vocals (1, 8, 11)

Paul Leary | Guitar, Lead vocals (2, 6,10)

Review:  
As soon as King Buzzo and Jeff Pinkus squawk out “Spinning round the wrong way” during the chorus of ‘Bride of Crankenstein,’ against a backdrop of grinding guitars and a rhythm section that sounds like a bloated Bigfoot who can’t find his stash of Yakult; it becomes glaringly obvious that this collaboration is one of pure gold.

Pinkus and fellow Butthole Surfer Paul Leary add a great deal of spice and depth to the anarchic grunt that is the Melvins. Not least on ‘You Can Make Me Wait, ‘where Leary takes lead vocals on a dreamy sequence that floats in on an acid trip aura. Then again with ‘Eyes On You,’ solely penned by Leary, a bright bouncy, Beatles-esque masquerade is brought to the foray and they sound all the better for this stark contrast. It’s a refreshingly different sounding Melvins at times here, while their trademark spit still comes crawling out of the shadows like a dreaded ex asking for another chance – and it wasn’t a pretty break up. ‘Sesame Street Meat’ – one of a plethora of songs swimming in a sludgey ocean of dark humour – sounds as nasty and grating as the Melvins ever have done. Its lion’s roar riffs are seismic, reverberating like crumbling mountains; Dale Crover’s drums the resulting avalanche of earthbound boulders.        

’Brass Cupcake’ would be pop punk if it weren’t so sinister. More crackling squawks, more hard hitting evidence in the argument that King Buzzo is one of the most underrated and inventive guitar players out there. The layered guitars are a great benefit to ‘Hold It In’. Having Leary provide another texture, he is able to play a little more freely and the results are a fantastic blend of shrill, clarion call wails and intelligent, weaving hooks.

Then there’s ‘Barcelonian Horse Pit.’ Amass with ominous, eerie tones and distressed backwards tracking, clumsy drum work and hair raising feedback. It’s not even a song in reality; just a cluster of twisted sounds but it’s so damn good. It has the same kind of allure a lonely housewife does to a milkman; before you know it you’re sucked inside, basking in its temptation, lost in the thrill of it all. It’s a song that really typifies everything there is to love about this band. Ingenious, against the grain, rough and raw, it’s so uniquely Melvins.  Could any other band pull of this kind of madness so convincingly?

And is that a squeeze box interlude in the seven and a half minute romp that is ‘The Bunk Up?’ More surprises, more twists and turns, another cinematic adventure. Once again you’re pulled into its world, dazzled by the colours and the imagery the moody music conjures. But it chews you up and spits you out as ‘I Get Along (Hollow Moon),’ another Leary number injects yet more diversity into this album’s throbbing veins. With a 60s rockabilly swagger, its bridge threatens to creep into Bond theme territory. With every wistful Leary composition, they make sure to follow it up with an old fashioned Melvins styled uppercut, except, on ‘Piss Pisstopherson’ it’s Punkus singing over a classic Buzzo riff. Arguably, this is the most amalgamating track on the record, the bastard offspring of the two bands.  

Time hasn’t changed the Melvins, nothing can and ever will. But what we have here is the addition of two fantastic songwriters who bring their own flavours to compliment their already delectable platter.

’Hold It In’ is another fine offering from a truly outstanding band.

Words: Phil Weller  

You can pick up a copy everywhere now.  If you missed our incredible interview with King Buzzo, check it out here.  You can also read review of ‘Tres Cabrones’, ‘Everyone Loves Sausages’ and ‘Houdini’

For more information:

Official | Facebook | Twitter

Godchilla - Cosmatos (Album Review)

Album Type: Full-Length

Release Date: 19/09/2014

Label: Melur Records

‘Cosmatos’ CD/DD track listing:

1).Back Home (In My Hut In The Swamp)

2). Montag The Magnificent

3). Cosmatos

4). Kickin' It On The Curb

5). Milliheimafasi

6). Sorfao Fyrir Satan

7). Hovering Castle, Purple Sky

8). Close To The Beyond/Hypnopolis

Godchilla is:

Syrgir Digurljón | Bassi og raddir

Hjaltasar Kormákur | Gítar og rödd

Úr Höskunni í Uldinn | Trommur

Review:

Strange journeys await as you delve into the compelling oddness of Godchilla’s fantastic debut full-length “Cosmatos.” This trio from Reykjavik has self-styled themselves surf-sludge and this is an accurate but not entirely perfect description of what awaits. A surf influence there is, but I detect a not so small amount of Ennio Morricone spaghetti western flavour that permeates some of the non-distorted tracks. However as much fun it is to refer to something as “slurf” or “spaghetti sludge”, it belittles the sonic achievement Godchilla has produced with “Cosmatos.”

“Cosmatos” touches on so many different genres and not just the aforementioned surf/sludge/spaghetti western, there is a bit of punk/Jesus Lizard in the vocals with some of the heaviest fuzz guitar tones you'll ever hear outside of Boris, not to mention the brief but fantastic slide guitar work on the opening track. Mix-wise “Cosmatos” is as close to perfect as is possible, everything is clearly defined and audible throughout. The vocals sit perfectly in the mix and the guitar soloing pops as it should. It sounds great on headphones and even better in the car.

Despite this being their first full-length, the songwriting here feels like a band just hitting their stride. Everything flows and there are a lot of eclectic and fun choices like the transition from the first to second tracks, going from a swampy blues to a strange sample right into some hardcore punk fury. Not to mention the incredibly strange but fantastic “Hovering Castle, Purple Sky” which moves through sections like a grand movie score. This track in particular has a heavy Western feel and the drumming throughout the track is really fun to listen to and is almost bouncy as it pushes through the songs changes.

This is one of the coolest albums I've heard in awhile, just a really fun listen, very strange throughout and it should be approached with an open mind as it doesn't really sit on any one genre but it is definitely heavy, and despite the other influences this is unquestionably sludgy. Check it out below.

Words by: Chris Tedor

You can stream and download the record here 

For more information:

https://www.facebook.com/Godchillah

https://godchillah.bandcamp.com/